Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are wading
into a subject that carries immense historical
weight and modern -day urgency. We are focusing
on a fascinating intersection of historical memory,
international diplomacy, and the ongoing fight
against global intolerance. Yeah, when we look
back at historical tragedies, there is often
this lingering assumption that remembering is
merely a passive act. You know, something done
quietly in museums or by reading through historical
archives. Right. But what we are exploring today
upends that idea completely. Remembering is actually
a highly organized, deeply significant global
effort. It's an active, deliberate process used
by world leaders to shape a more secure geopolitical
future. And our mission for this deep dive is
to really understand how the world collectively
attempts to memorialize one of history's darkest
chapters and how those monumental efforts evolve
right alongside modern geopolitics. We're basing
this on a really comprehensive Wikipedia article
detailing the history of the World Holocaust
Forum. So, OK, let's unpack this. Let's do it.
The World Holocaust Forum. which is also known
as the Let My People Live Forum, is an ongoing
series of massive international gatherings aimed
squarely at preserving the memory of the Holocaust.
To understand its origins, we really need to
look at the World Holocaust Forum Foundation.
It was established in 2005 under the chairmanship
of Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor. He was the president
of the European Jewish Congress. Exactly. And
the foundation was built with a clear dual goal.
First, Preserving Holocaust memory. Second, and
crucially, combating modern xenophobia. It links
the darkest lessons of the past directly to the
active threats of the present. Yeah, that dual
purpose was highly visible right from the jump.
The First World Holocaust Forum took place in
2005 in Krakow, Poland. And the timing carried
heavy historical resonance, marking exactly the
60th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz
-Birkenau concentration camp. And looking at
the attendee list gives a really clear picture
of the sheer scale of this initiative. Oh, absolutely.
The guest list reveals the logistical and diplomatic
weight in that room. Over 20 official delegates
gathered, led by their respective heads of state.
We are talking heavy hitters here. The president
of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. The
president of Israel, Moshe Katzav. The president
of Poland, Alexander Kwasniewski. And the vice
president of the United States, Richard Cheney.
Getting those four leaders alone into the same
room at the same time for a singular purpose.
It requires an immense amount of diplomatic coordination.
It does. And it generated widespread media coverage,
effectively putting the forum on the global map
right out of the gate. It set a firm precedent,
I think. It demonstrated to the world that Holocaust
commemoration would not be relegated solely to
historians or local municipalities. No. It was
established as a priority at the absolute highest
levels of global government. And that momentum
carried directly into the following year, expanding
both in location and scope. Right. So in 2006,
the Second World Holocaust Forum moved to Piv,
Ukraine. This was under the auspices of Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko. The occasion was
the 65th anniversary of the Babi Yar massacre.
Which is a devastating chapter. It is. And for
you listening who might need a brief refresher
on that horrific event, Babi Yar refers to a
ravine in Kiev where in 1941 nearly 34 ,000 Jews
were murdered by mass shooting in just two days.
It was a defining moment of what historians often
call the Holocaust by bullets. And the scale
of the memorial gathering to honor those victims
exploded compared to the first year. Over 1 ,000
people from 60 different countries attended.
And you didn't just have individual politicians
showing up. You had a unified front. The institutional
presence was massive. Major Jewish organizations
like the World Jewish Congress, the European
Jewish Congress, the American Jewish Congress,
and the European Jewish Fund were all sitting
at the same table. Alongside representatives
from the United Nations, the European Union,
and the Council of Europe. Yeah. It signaled
a major shift in international cooperation regarding
memory. So we had this massive coordinated gathering
in Kyiv. And the tangible outcome of all those
minds in one room was something called the World
Holocaust Forum Declaration. What's fascinating
here is how this document encapsulates that dual
mission we discussed earlier. It wasn't just
a memorial statement looking backward. It was
a rigorous call to action. Because it explicitly
demanded the preservation of World War Two's
tragic memories. Right. But it tied that preservation
directly to uniting global efforts in the active
modern day fight against xenophobia, anti -Semitism
and international terrorism. It effectively takes
historical memory. And turns it into a policy
directive. Exactly. And to see how that policy
directive begins to weave itself into the actual
fabric of European governance, we have to look
at a pivotal shift that happened four years later
at the Third World Holocaust Forum in 2010. The
2010 forum is deeply interesting from a geopolitical
standpoint. It returned to Krakow to mark the
65th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation.
And the central theme was creating connections
between the past and the future, using memory
to prevent any recurrence of past tragedies.
Even global leaders who couldn't attend in person
still made sure their voices were part of the
geopolitical narrative. U .S. President Barack
Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy both
sent formal addresses to the forum. stressing
that the world community must always remember.
Yes, and they explicitly suggested that this
collective memory should factor into real -world
policy decisions. The historical narrative emphasized
at this 2010 gathering was very specific. It
was designed as a starting point for a full year
of commemorative events observing the 65th anniversary
of victory in World War II. But it deliberately
aimed to attract global attention to the unparalleled
united struggle of the Allied coalition against
fascism. Yeah. It heavily highlighted the decisive
role of the Soviet Union in the liberation of
Europe. And bringing that history out of the
textbooks and into reality, the organizers actually
hosted two World War II veterans, Ivan Martinushkin
and Yakov Vinochenko. They were actual liberators
of Auschwitz -Birkenau. Right. Having them in
attendance as honorary guests, sitting alongside
100 European Parliament deputies and other official
delegations, it fundamentally changes the atmosphere
of the room. It anchors the high -level diplomacy
in profound human reality. Absolutely. But the
2010 Forum also produced a major forward -thinking
initiative. Right. The main tangible result of
the 2010 gathering was the announcement of an
initiative to build a brand -new educational
and research institution. the Pan -European University
of Global Security and Tolerance. Think about
how you typically see governments respond to
extremism. Usually, the immediate reaction involves
military escalation, increased surveillance,
or strict security measures. But here, the explicit
objective was to assist the international community
in its struggle for global security by fighting
extremism proactively through cross -cultural
educational and instructional programs. They
literally tried to build a university to fight
hate. It is a wildly forward -looking outcome
from an event dedicated... to looking back. It
is. And that momentum from the 2010 forum is
exactly what pushed the movement straight into
the halls of power in Brussels over the next
few years. This is a crucial step in institutionalizing
memory. By January 2011, on the eve of International
Holocaust Remembrance Day, the European Parliament
hosted a major commemoration meeting. coinciding
with the 66th anniversary of the liberation of
Auschwitz. The guest of honor at that 2011 event
was Catherine Ashton, the European Union's High
Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security
Policy. Bringing her into the Fulbridge's historical
memory directly with current foreign policy.
Yeah, and the organizers reflected that deep
integration. They featured cooperation between
the European Jewish Congress, the European Parliament
itself, and Israel's Diaspora Affairs Ministry.
This institutional relationship deepened in 2012.
They held the second Holocaust Remembrance Day
at the European Parliament, patronized by the
Parliament president. That specific gathering
was timed to the 70th anniversary of the Wannsee
Conference and 50th anniversary of the Adolf
Eichmann trial. Those are two massive contrasting
milestones in Holocaust history. Right. The onesie
conference in 1942 was the chilling bureaucratic
meeting where Nazi officials formalized the so
-called final solution. Then contrasting that
bureaucratic evil, the 1961 Adolf Eichmann trial
served as a watershed moment where the visceral,
undeniable testimony of Holocaust survivors was
finally broadcast to the entire world. Timing
the 2012 Parliament meeting to those two anniversaries
creates a powerful narrative arc from the inception
of the atrocity to the pursuit of justice. And
this growing relationship culminated in a very
significant administrative decision. By 2013,
the president of the European Parliament, Martin
Schulz, declared International Holocaust Remembrance
Day as an official annual event for the European
Parliament. It became a permanent, immovable
fixture on their calendar. Watching an initiative
grow from a memorial forum in Krakow into a permanent
mandate in Brussels shows the sheer power of
organized remembrance. It really does. Here's
where it gets really interesting, especially
in how these events are structured to evoke powerful
emotions alongside political action. The Fourth
International Forum in 2015 marked the 70th anniversary
of the Auschwitz liberation. This time, it was
split into two parts, held in Prague and at the
Terezin concentration camp in the Czech Republic.
The context for this 2015 gathering is vital.
The tone shifted noticeably from purely historical
reflection to sounding a contemporary alarm.
The forum was explicitly focused on a terrifying
present reality. Rising anti -Semitism and intolerance
were actively threatening the survival of Jewish
communities in Europe at that very moment, and
by extension, threatening the security of Europe.
Over 900 guests attended the first part, known
as the Forum of World Civil Society at Prague
Castle. They hosted three distinct discussion
panels focusing heavily on contemporary issues,
anti -Semitism, neo -Nazism, and religious radicalism.
The guest list was incredibly diverse, blending
political power with civil society. You had U
.S. human rights activist Abraham Foxman, Yale
historian Timothy David Snyder, and French philosopher
Bernard -Henri Lévy. sitting alongside politicians
like the Czech prime minister and the president
of the Czech Senate. Then the second part of
the event is where the emotional resonance takes
over. On January 27th, the Czech president hosted
the official commemorative ceremony, and they
deliberately moved the location to Theresienstadt,
widely known as Terezin. Terezin has a very specific,
tragic legacy. It was a concentration camp that
primarily served as a transit station on the
way to extermination camps. But within those
walls, an incredible story of artistic resistance
unfolded. Many of the inmates imprisoned at Theresienstadt
were renowned musicians, composers, cartoonists,
and poets. Despite facing starvation, disease,
and the constant threat of transport to death
camps, they fought to maintain their art. and
their humanity. They organized concerts, gave
secret lectures, and even published an underground
magazine called Videm. The 2015 forum honored
that specific legacy in a profound way. During
the ceremony, the National Philharmonic of Russia,
featuring 98 musicians directed by Vladimir Spivakov,
performed the Yellow Stars Concerto by Isaac
Schwartz. They played this soaring, mournful
music, while a video about Holocaust history
played in the background. Then an online minute
of silence was held. simultaneously linking three
other concentration camps in mourning. World
-famous cantor Joseph Malovany and Oscar -winning
actor Sir Ben Kingsley also performed during
the ceremony. When we examine how that ceremony
was constructed, we see how art is utilized to
bridge a very specific gap in human understanding.
Exactly. When discussing the Holocaust, the sheer
statistics, the millions upon millions of lives
lost, can sometimes feel abstract or impossible
for the human brain to truly comprehend. Art,
music, and poetry cut straight through the numbers.
They bridge the gap between unimaginable historical
statistics and deeply personal individual human
tragedy. Hearing a concerto play in the very
place where musicians were imprisoned reminds
everyone present of the brilliant, creative human
lives that were systematically extinguished.
That ceremony led to a powerful conclusion for
the fourth forum, where participants adopted
another formal declaration to combat anti -Semitism
and hate crimes. Which brings us forward in time
to the most recent major event in our time. The
scale and the diplomatic complexities reach an
entirely new stratosphere. We are moving to the
Fifth World Holocaust Forum in 2020. This gathering
took place in Jerusalem, marking the 70th anniversary
of the liberation of Auschwitz. It was explicitly
titled, Remembering the Holocaust, Fighting Antisemitism.
Organized by Vyacheslav Moshe Kantor, in cooperation
with Yad Vashem, it was held under the auspices
of Israeli President Rivan Rivlin. And to call
this event massive doesn't quite capture the
reality of it. The logistical undertaking alone
is hard to fathom. 49 high -level delegations
converged on Jerusalem. The names involved represent
the apex of global power. Russian President Vladimir
Putin, U .S. Vice President Mike Pence, French
President Emmanuel Macron, German President Frank
-Walter Steinmeier, Italian President Sergio
Mattarella. Royalty also attended, including
King William Alexander of the Netherlands and
Prince Charles. They were joined by leaders from
Argentina, Australia, Canada, and dozens of European
nations. If we connect this to the bigger picture,
any time you gather 49 international delegations,
particularly featuring heads of state from major
global powers, You are no longer just hosting
a memorial. You are navigating an incredibly
delicate, highly volatile web of international
geopolitics. With an event of this magnitude.
controversies and diplomatic friction are almost
inevitable. That friction became very real regarding
the speaking schedule for the 2020 forum. And
it is important to note for you listening that
our goal today isn't to validate either side
of this geopolitical dispute, but merely to look
at the official stances provided in our research
to show just how tense the politics of memory
can get. The conflict centered around the Polish
speaking slot or rather the lack thereof. Polish
President Andrzej Duda made the firm decision
to refuse to participate in the event entirely.
Based on the official statements, President Duda
refused to attend because he was not given the
opportunity to speak at the forum. He specifically
criticized the event organizers for giving a
prominent speaking slot to Russian President
Vladimir Putin. The necessary context here is
that in the weeks leading up to the forum, President
Putin had publicly criticized Poland regarding
its historical record during World War II. Right.
From the Polish perspective, attending a global
forum without the ability to publicly respond
or to present their own historical narrative
on that massive stage was deemed unacceptable.
This position drew immediate international support.
President Gitanas Naseda of Lithuania formally
endorsed President Duda's position and, in a
striking act of diplomatic solidarity, also withdrew
from the summit. On the other side of this diplomatic
equation, Yad Vashem, the co -host of the event,
issued a press release on January 7, 2020, to
officially explain their decision -making process
regarding the speaking schedule. Yad Vashem stated
that a Polish speaker was not considered necessary
based on the specific thematic framework they
had chosen for the addresses. They explained
that it was, in their view, especially appropriate
that the leaders addressing the event represented
the four main powers of the Allied forces. Their
rationale was that these were the specific forces
which ultimately liberated Europe and the world
from the tyranny of Nazi Germany. So you have
these sharply contrasting viewpoints. Poland
and Lithuania felt marginalized and historically
slighted, particularly in light of recent geopolitical
tensions with Russia. Meanwhile, Yad Vashem asserted
a structural logic based on highlighting the
major allied powers of World War II. It perfectly
illustrates how fraught the politics of global
remembrance can be. Even an event entirely dedicated
to unity, mourning and fighting modern hate can
instantly become a flashpoint for modern geopolitical
tensions. It highlights the immense responsibility
placed on the organizers. Every single decision
who is invited, who sits where and crucially,
who is handed a microphone carries profound diplomatic
weight. Absolutely. So what does this all mean?
We've traced this incredible journey from 2005
to 2020. We've seen the World Holocaust Forum.
grow from memorial gathering in Krakow into a
massive, complex international institution. An
institution that genuinely tries to balance solemn,
deeply emotional remembrance with urgent, modern
-day political realities and policy goals. The
biggest takeaway here is that remembering the
Holocaust is not and cannot be a passive endeavor.
It requires active, ongoing, coordinated effort.
Whether that takes the form of drafting international
declarations against hate crimes, proposing cross
-cultural universities to fight extremism, or
navigating the incredibly shifting tides of global
diplomacy to get 49 nations in a room together,
memory is hard work. It is work that inherently
ties the past to the shifting landscape of global
diplomacy. It leaves us with something really
important to think about. When the leaders of
the world gather to remember history, the way
that memory is organized, who hosts? who speaks,
and what is highlighted can be just as telling
as the history itself. That's a great point.
It raises a really provocative question for you
to ponder on your own. As the last remaining
survivors and liberators inevitably pass on,
how will the politics of memory change the way
future generations understand these historical
events? When the firsthand witnesses are gone,
Who gets to shape the narrative of remembrance?
That is the pivotal question historians, politicians,
and everyday citizens will have to grapple with
in the coming decades. Thank you so much for
joining us on this deep dive. We hope it gave
you a new perspective on how the world attempts
to honor the past while navigating the incredibly
complex present. Keep asking questions and stay
curious. We will see you next time.